Forbidden Love
by IShipDramione1
Summary: A dramione fan fiction. Set in the fifth year at Hogwarts, where Draco and Hermione meet up only to fall hard for each other. I'm hoping it's better than it sounds, I'm horrible at writing summaries.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, hello everyone! This is my first Dramione fic, so pleassseeee review! And follow, if you like! I hope you like it.**

Hermione walked down to the Prefect's compartment with Ron. All around them, kids laughed with each other, discussed summer, and exchanged sweets, while the train took them back to Hogwarts. Hermione felt the sense of pride she always got when doing something above average, and being a prefect was one of them.

"So Hermione…" Ron said awkwardly. Hermione looked over at him-or rather, looked _up_ at him. Ron had grown another few inches over the summer, leaving Hermione well behind. "You excited?"

"For what?" She replied.

"You know school and stuff…I mean, now that we've done with our OWLs, you'll have to study ten times as hard this year…" Ron smiled awkwardly at her.

"OWLs! I've been waiting for these ever since I first learned about them!" Hermione said scoffingly, giving Ron a small glare. "Don't even act like you didn't know that!"

"Spoken truly like Hermione Granger." Ron smiled at her, and opened the compartment door. Hermione slid through gracefully, and Ron tried to mimick it. Instead though, he tripped over and nearly fell.

"Bloody 'ell." He muttered, trying to regain his balance.

"Making an entrance, aren't you Weasley?" Came a drawling voice from the back of the room. A voice that any of the trio would know the second they heard it.

"Back off, Malfoy." Hermione snapped, glancing over at him. She looked away quickly, towards Ron, but couldn't help herself. She looked over to him again.

He was standing against the wall, already in uniform. Over the summer he had also grown quite a bit, and he was a good inch or two above Hermione. His eyes were a clear, visible blue, and pierced into hers even from across the compartment. His hair, though still slicked back, was a glowing blond. Every girl in the room was glancing over at him every few seconds, just like Hermione.

Hermione looked away again. "You okay Ron?" She asked, trying to sound like she wasn't just staring at Malfoy.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He pushed up the sleeves of his shirt and sat down. On a small table in the compartment was a piece of paper, with the groups they would be patrolling with.

"I'm with…." Ron turned green as he turned to Pansy Parkinson.

Hermione tried to look at it, but the others were crowded around it, making it too hard.

"Well Granger, isn't this a twist" Came a voice in her ear. Hermione turned slightly to see a wisp of blond hair next to her. Draco leaned down over her; Hermione could feel his breath on her ear. "Seems we'll be patrolling _together_ today."

**A/N: Okay, again, pleaseee review. I have a few more chapters up, and they won't be very long at first, I need to get in some details.**


	2. Patrolling with Draco

**A/N: Hello there! I hope you like this chapter, even though it's short -_- Please read and review!**

Hermione stalked out of the compartment, her head held high. Draco swaggered out behind her, smiling.

_She's pretty funny when she's angry. _He thought. _Even kind of-pretty…No! Not that mudblood! She's nothing more than filth. Besides, father would kill me…._

Hermione turned to face Draco. "You coming?" She said. Draco nodded and walked up to her. Hermione glared at him one more time and walked off again.

_Screw father. _Draco thought, and walked away with her, smiling again.

* * *

><p>"So Granger." Draco said behind her. "What are we supposed to be doing?"<p>

"Looking for troublemakers." Hermione said, looking into a compartment. "Hey! No fanged Frisbees allowed!" She said, and grabbed it out of the hands of a second year. "Do you see any others?"

"You're working with one." Malfoy said cockily, giving her a little half grin. Hermione blushed and hid her face under her hair. _He knows how cute he's being._

Draco saw the change on her face, how she quickly looked away. He grabbed the fanged Frisbee away from her.

"Hey!" She protested, reaching for it. But it was no use, he was too tall. Draco grinned at her and threw the toy down the hall, where a small first year screamed and ran from it.

"Come on, let's patrol."

They walked down the hallway in awkward silence, every now and then glancing at each other. Hermione was at war with herself in her head though, trying to think of the many emotions running through her.

_I can't like him. No, I can't. I've hated him for years now! One summer can't change that…even if he is rather cute…_

Hermione looked sideways at him, only to see him doing the same to her.

_Does he like…me? No, no, he couldn't. I'm just 'that mudblood' the know it all. He could never like me, out paths were never meant to cross like that…_

The sensible part of Hermione's brain was believing this. But the small part of her brain that never came out, the dreamy, romantic, girly one, hoped with all its might that it was true. And Hermione tried to push that away, even though she knew it was impossible.

**A/N: Again, short-ish chapter. I'm going to skip ahead to Hogwarts, and it will be after the first day of school. So look for that, it will probably be up right now And I'm sorry for begging for reviews, but I really want to know how to improve!**


	3. Potions Class

**A/N: Hello there! This chapter I use dialogue from the book, and I do not own most of it. Please read and review!**

Hermione entered potions with Harry and Ron, annoyed. She hadn't had the best day, what with getting up a bit late to Ron being an idiot again. She sat down at the table next to them, and Neville promptly sat down next to her.

"I'm gonna fail…" He said miserably, burying his head in his hands. "I'll never pass this class. Gran's gonna _kill _me!"

"Oh Neville, come on…" Hermione tried to sound soothing. "You just have to focus. I'll help you out."

"Thanks." He mumbled, lifting his head up. Hermione straightened up, and saw Draco looking at her from across the room.

She hadn't spoken to him since yesterday on the train, where they had actually had a bit of nice conversation. He had seemed pretty interested in her life, and they had almost forgotten to hate each other. Until, of course, when he came into their compartment later and acted like a complete git.

Malfoy winked at her, as though he could read her mind, and turned back to Goyle. Hermione had no time to react though, because Snape had entered the room.

"Before we begin today's lesson, I think it is appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition of and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of you are, I expect you to scrape an 'acceptable' or suffer my…displeasure."

With this he glared at Neville, who gulped loudly. Hermione shook her head at Snape while memorizing everything he was saying for later.

"Today we will be making a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and sooth agitation."

Hermione grinned. She had already studied this potion a year before now, in hopes it would come up. She didn't even need to read the instructions on the board to know exactly what to do.

Hermione grinned with satisfaction at her potion, which was perfect. It was a beautiful color, a blue-ish grey with a slight silver mist over it. It reminded her of…she looked up to see Draco's piercing eyes again. They matched her potion perfectly. Hermione didn't know what to think of this. Draco, in one day, had taken over her.

Snape walked over to Hermione, breaking her thoughts. He peered into it, his nose just inches from hers, and then swept away. Hermione knew this was the highest honor for a Gryffindor, to _not _have criticism from Snape. Then he got to Harry's. Hermione held her breath, bracing herself for what he would say.

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?"

"The Draught of Peace." Harry said, a bit of agitation in his voice.

"Tell me Potter, can you read?"

Draco laughed, and Hermione glared at him, shutting him up. She turned and smirked.

_Oh, he likes me. _She thought.

"Yes, I can." Harry said. Hermione saw his fingers tighten around his wand, and hoped he didn't do anything stupid.

"Read the third line of the instructions for me."

"Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counterclockwise, allow simmering for seven minutes, and then adding two drops of syrup of hellbore."

Hermione knew right away that Harry forgot the hellbore, and was nervous for how Snape would react.

"Did you do everything on line three, Potter?"

"No"

"I beg your pardon?"

"No. I forgot the hellbore…"

"I know you did Potter, which means this is utterly worthless. _Evansco._"

Hermione gasped as Snape wiped away Harry's entire potion. While she gathered hers in a flagon, she looked over at Malfoy again. His potion was close to perfect, but Crabbe, on the other hands, exploded his when he poured it in. Malfoy yelped and jumped away as Crabbe's robes lit on fire. Hermione giggled slightly to herself as she handed Snape her flagon, and walked out of the room with Ron and Harry. They sat down at the table in the Great Hall, where Harry seemed to be fuming.

"That was really unfair," Hermione said, sitting down next to him. "Your potion wasn't nearly as bad as Goyle's, when he put in in his flagon it exploded and set his robes on fire."

Ron gave her a look, and Hermione realized that might sound like she was watching Malfoy. Harry didn't seem to notice though. Yeah, well, since when has Snape ever been fair to me?"

Hermione thought about this, and although she was focused on the Snape issue, there was one other thing in her mind.

_Draco Malfoy._

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! They're getting a bit longer now Again, please review!**


	4. Always Arrogant

Standing in front of Hagrid's hut, the Gryffindors waited for the Slytherins. A cool wind brushed past, and the bright yellow sun was hidden by thin grey clouds. In the woods you could hear a slight rustle of life, and outside a few drops of rain came down occasionally, hitting their faces. Professor Grubbly-Plank, a short witch with a stiff cropped haircut and bright brown eyes, was outside the door. Hermione shifted from one foot to another, wanting this lesson to start.

Suddenly a loud burst of laughter came from behind them, which Hermione could tell was Draco's. She turned slowly, and saw him being followed by the rest of the Slytherin gang. All of them were laughing at whatever he just said, and he stood in the middle, smiling. Hermione looked at him, and brown met blue. But Pansy distracted Draco, and left Hermione standing there, staring.

"Everyone here?" Said Professor Grubbly-Plank as the Slytherins reached them. Draco stood directly behind Hermione, and she could feel him staring at her. "Let's get started-who can tell me what these things are called?"

Hermione's hand shot up into the air. Behind her, Malfoy did an imitation of her buck-toothed and jumping up and down. Pansy shrieked with laughter behind her, and Hermione's face turned red with embarrassment. The creatures jumped at Pansy's scream, revealing themselves to be pixie-like with brown bodies, and sparkling eyes.

"So, does anyone know the names of these creatures? Miss Granger?"

"Bowtruckles. They're tree guardians, usually found in wand-trees."

"Five points for Gryffindor." Said Professor Grubbly-Plank. "And what do they eat?"

"Wood lice. But fairy eggs if they can."

"Good girl, another five points."

Professor Grubbly-Plank sent them off to label and draw the bowtruckles. As they gathered around the table, Malfoy slid next to Hermione.

"So, how's your day been, Granger?" He said in a cool voice.

"_Don't_ talk to me!" Hermione said, looking at the bowtruckles.

"And why shouldn't I?"

"Oh, so you can just make fun of me, and then expect me to just act like you aren't a git?"

"Granger, it was just a joke." Malfoy grabbed himself a bowtruckle. "C'mon, just have a little fun."

"Okay, Malfoy, it was just a joke. Now why don't you go run off with _Pansy_ and joke a lot more?" And with that, Hermione walked away. Malfoy just stood there, speechless, wondering where all that came from.

"Where's Hagrid?" Came Harry's voice. Hermione slowed down a little, wanting to hear this.

"Never you mind." Was the reply he got. Hermione sighed, wanting to know where he was so badly.

"Maybe the stupid great oaf's got himself injured." Came Malfoy's voice. He was speaking in a low voice, but Hermione was close enough to hear what he was saying. Hermione walked away, not wanting to hear the rest of it. How could she ever believe that she _liked _him! That maybe he was kinder…but no. Malfoy would always be an arrogant git.


	5. The Library Holds Many Secrets

**A/N: Hey everyone! Okay, so I am going to make the chapters longer now, but if I'm going straight from the book like the last chapter it's hard to make them longer. This one is all mine! Love you! Xx**

A few days later, Hermione walked through the library. This was her favorite place in all of Hogwarts, because of the old, dusty books that held information to everything. The bookcases were almost two times bigger than her, and there were rows and rows of them. She had frequented this place so much she had even found a small hidden reading nook. It was the perfect place for her, and this was where she belonged.

Hermione turned down the row with all the Herbology books. At the very end of it was a large window, where Hermione could see the small flying figures practicing Quidditch. She could see Ron's shaking figure, and Harry high above all of them. Hermione couldn't see what they loved so much about that game…but she had to go back to the books. As she looked along the row, she felt the presence of someone behind her. Whipping around, she saw-

"Malfoy! What are you doing-following me?"

Hermione hadn't talked to him at all since the incident in Care of Magical Creatures, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Well, in a way, yes." He said, looking embarrassed. He nervously rolled up the sleeves of his black sweater. "I-I figured I'd find you here. You know, it's where you always seem to be." He flashed a smile at her.

"Yes, yes it is." Hermione said briskly, walking past him. "Now, if that's all you wanted, you can go."

"No, no, it's not." Malfoy ran in front of her, making her stop and look up at him. "I just wanted to ask you something."

Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to figure out what he wanted. But it was impossible; he just merely looked at her with his piercing blue eyes.

"Alright, what is it?"

Draco looked around, as though he was making sure there was nobody else to hear this.

"I-I need a tutor, someone smart, who can help me. I _have _to understand transfiguration this year, I barely did last year, and if I don't-well…" He shifted nervously. "I'll kind of fail my OWLs."

Hermione searched his face once again for signs of dishonesty, or deception of any kind, but found nothing but truth. She could tell he seriously wanted to do this.

"Alright," She said. "How about Monday?"

* * *

><p>On Monday night, after dinner, Hermione filled her bag with some transfiguration books, and a few things to practice on. She then went over to the small mirror that hung beside her bed, and started doing her hair. She brushed it through at least four times, trying to make it flatter.<p>

_Wait, what am I doing?_ She thought to herself. _I'm not really trying to primp for a date-tutoring session- with _Malfoy_?_

She put down the brush and rushed out of the room, feeling absolutely ridiculous.

"Hey Hermione!" Ron said, rushing over to her. "Where're you going?"

"Just down to the library." She said nervously.

"Oh, just like always." Came Harry's voice from the front of the room. "Come on Ron, we've still got all this Divination homework to do…"

"Oh, blimey," Ron said, looking worried. "You sure you don't want to stay Hermione?"

"Ron, I gave up that class for a reason." Hermione said, and walked out of the Common Room. "Bye guys!"

Hermione hurried down the hall, down the stairs, and into the library. She looked around for Draco, and found him sitting in the same section they had met in the other day.

"Hey Granger." Said Malfoy in the same cocky voice. "Shall we begin?"

Hermione nodded and sat next to him. Here in the library, with its low lighting and such, it almost felt like…a date.

_No! It's not a date! _Hermione thought again, and reached down to get her books and her wand.

Malfoy sat there, watching her dig through her stuff. _She's really quite pretty. _He thought _And she's smart too…wait. No. We're supposed to hate each other! I can't just suddenly…like her. And like that? No way._

"Okay Malfoy, so let's start with the switching spell. You know that, right?" Hermione said, getting up. She noticed he had just been watching her, and didn't know whether to blush (Again) or look away. So she just placed the book on the table.

Malfoy looked into her brown eyes nervously."Oh yeah, of course I do! We learned those _ages _ago!" Malfoy grinned and pulled out his wand. Hermione place a cup on the table.

"Alright, turn that cup into a bowl." Hermione said. Malfoy grinned at her.

"Okay, we'll start in first year then." He cleared his throat. "_Quis immutationon!" _he waved his wand, and the bowl exploded. Hermione gave out a little squeak and hid under the table, and Draco joined her.

"Okay, so maybe I don't know them very well…" He said sheepishly. Hermione laughed at this, hitting her head slightly on the underside of the table.

"Come on; let's get out from under here." She said, crawling away. Draco followed, and as they got up, he couldn't help but stare one more time as she went back to the table.

_Maybe I do like her._

Draco looked away quickly, and started back towards her.

Hermione looked up at him coming towards her, and didn't know why she was doing this. Why would she help this boy she was supposed to hate?

_Maybe I do like him._

Hermione shook her head at this. Could it be true? Could she really like him? She looked towards him, and he gave her a small smile.

_Make that a yes._

"Okay, that time you used a completely new spell. I don't even know what you did, but if you ever need to explode something, remember it." She said, turning back to the book.

"Don't worry, I will." He said, rolling his eyes. "Maybe you should go get one of the older textbooks, one from first year."

Hermione knew he was being sarcastic, but decided to take advantage of it. "Alright, maybe I will." She said, heading to where she knew the book would be. Draco laughed quietly under his breath as she walked away.

_I need to act fast, before she's taken from me._ He thought impulsively. _Wait, what am I thinking? I can't just…tell her I like her. Can I?_

He got up, and walked to where Hermione was standing, looking at the books.

"You know, you're pretty smart." He said as he came over.

"Maybe a bit too smart." She said, looking even harder at the books, trying to concentrate.

"Funny too."

"I could say the same to you."

Hermione felt the tall form of Draco Malfoy hovering over her. She took in a breath, her heart beating fast. Time moved slowly, and she inched a bit closer. She almost didn't know what was happening. It felt like a dream.

"I'm going to kiss you now, Granger."

And with that, he leaned in closer, his eyes steadily closing. Hermione froze, closing her eyes too, and then felt his soft lips on hers. She leaned up a bit, her hand circling his waist. His hand moved to the back of her head, and time was frozen. They kissed, and seconds past. Her heart felt like it was going to explode, and she wondered if he could hear it.

After only ten seconds, he drew away from her.

"Goodnight Granger." He said, smiling at her. This time, it was real. Not cocky, not a smirk, a real smile.

"Goodnight Malfoy." She replied, grinning to herself. But then her smile faded, and she realized-

This would be a secret nobody could know.

**A/N: Mmmm, Hermione and Draco getting down and dirty in the library ;) Ironic how it's Hermione's favorite place...haha. Again, read and review, because if you review I'll love you forever and update 10000000 times faster 3 Okay, my little shippers, I love you all! Nighty night :) And recommend it if you like itt! Xoxo**


	6. Thoughts on Life

**A/N: Hey guys! I am so so so so so so so sorry I haven't been on recently. I have had a ton of schoolwork, and then my computer was taken away -_- but anyways, here's a new chapter, I'll update more often now!**

Hermione walked back to the common room, her mind spinning. Draco Malfoy, he couldn't-wouldn't-_shouldn't_ kiss her. He never would have. Why, why would he have kissed her? She was, in his words, a 'filthy little mudblood.' And to her, well, he had always been that little git in first year.

But now everything had changed.

Hermione walked through the portrait hole, hoping she wouldn't run into Ron or Harry. She needed time to think, maybe knit a hat or two to leave out. She peered out, looking past the fire, and over to the chess table, but there was nobody. Not even Ginny was around, and she really needed someone to talk to right then.

Stepping out of the hole, Hermione tiptoed over to the stairs leading up to the girl's dormitories. The stairs creaked slightly under her weight, and she ran lightly, almost hopping from step to step. When she got to the top, she turned into the younger girl's rooms. Pushing open the door, she found them all lying in their beds, fast asleep.

"Ginny?" She whispered, looking for her. She saw a flash of red hair as one of the girl's turned, and ran over to her. "Ginny!" Hermione whispered again, a little bit louder.

"Hmm? Wha-Hermione!" Ginny rolled over to her. "What're you doing in here? Isn't it like two in the morning?"

"No, Ginny, it's actually like ten at night." Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Please come downstairs with me?"

"Sure?" Ginny got out of bed, yawning. She rubbed her eyes a little, and slipped out of bed, following Hermione downstairs. Hermione sat down on the red couch, sinking into it. Ginny sat next to her. "So what's wrong?"

"Why do you assume something's wrong?"

"Why else would you wake me up at ten at night for no obvious reason?"

Hermione frowned. "Point taken." She said, deciding what to say next. "Well, the thing is…"

"What?"

"Well, you know how I went to the library tonight?"

"Yeah, to study." Ginny said. "Like always."

"Well, I wasn't exactly…studying _alone._"

"What do you mean?"

"I was with Draco Malfoy."

"What?" Ginny almost shrieked, and Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Shush!" She looked towards the stairs nervously. "You can't tell anyone, okay? If Harry and Ron find out…." Hermione took her hand away and slid it across her throat. "I'm dead."

"Well…okay." Ginny said. "Wait, is that it?"

"No, it's not. Well, he kind of….kissed me."

"What?" Ginny actually yelled this time, and then buried her head in a pillow. "Sorry!" Was the muffled shout from the pillow.

"And I may have kissed him back."

There were a few more sounds from the pillow, but then all was silent. Ginny lifted up her head and looked at Hermione with wide eyes.

"Don't be mad at me!"

"I'm not mad…" Ginny said. "I just always thought-"

"What?"

"I just always thought…." Ginny paused, and then sighed. "I always thought you liked Ron."

Hermione's eyes widened, and she thought. She _had_ always thought Ron was…kind of cute. But now, she really couldn't think of anyone else. It was always Malfoy now.

"I don't know. Maybe…but not anymore. Really, I just can't wrap my head around it all anymore." Hermione said solemnly.

"It's fine. Let's just go to bed." Ginny said, rising up off the couch. Hermione followed, and they walked up to the dorms in silence.

**A/N: Yay! Let's hope Hermione can figure herself out now! Haha but on a serious note, please review! I need more reviews, or I don't know what to improve on when I write. Because I know I'm not the best. So please, review, subscribe, suggest, whatever. Love you! xoxo**


	7. Draco's Worries

**Hello my darling Dramione shippers! I would just like to tell you all that this is kind of a confusing chapter, because it jumps back and forth between Hermione and Draco's minds. Also, I have a lot of weird parts where I do one line with one sentence (it's for dramatic effect). Enjoy!**

The next morning, Draco woke up early in the Slytherin Common Room. Dull green light streaked through the glass windows and in the beds next to him Crabbe and Goyle snored loudly. Pulling off his green covers, Draco walked over to the door sleepily. He silently opened the door and crept away to the common room.

Draco walked down the hall, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Then it came back to him, what had happened last night. Why, oh why had he kissed her last night? It was like an overwhelming amount of bottled up emotion had come out into that kiss. He hadn't planned on kissing her, just telling her how he felt.

Too late.

Turning into the cold and eerie room, he laid down on one of the moss green couches. Maybe, just maybe, he had kissed her last night for a reason. Maybe, in his subconscious, he had liked her for a lot longer than this.

_No, that's absurd! _He thought.

But was it? Was it really?

Draco moaned and turned into the couch. His face was smushed against the pillows on the back of it, and he sat like that, thinking.

_Maybe I just won't talk to her anymore. No, wait, I need her to help me study. I can't pass without her! Well, I guess I can just pretend it never happened. _

Why was he doing this? What if she felt the same way? No, no. She never would.

But she hadn't exactly tried to stop him last night. And that gave him motivation, motivation to roll off the couch and go find Hermione. Draco rolled over, about to get up, and all of a sudden-

_Thwomp._

"Ow." He muttered, pushing himself off the floor. This was not a good start to the day. He got up and stalked out of the common room, annoyed.

Draco didn't even know what he was doing. Was he going after her? _That's desperate. _He thought. _But we have to talk. _So he kept going, deciding to look in the library. He pushed open the big doors, and looked down every row of books, until he got to their place.

Our _place?_ He thought, discouraged. She wasn't there. He turned; ready to go, when the sight of brown hair disappearing behind a bookshelf caught his eye. He followed it, and when he walked behind the bookshelf he saw her.

Out of the corner of Hermione's eye, she saw a tall, blond haired figure. She closed her eyes for a second, worried. She hadn't wanted to talk to him just yet. But she knew there was no stopping it now. She put her book back onto the shelf, and ran her fingers through her hair, a nervous habit that made it even more wild than usual.

"Granger," Draco said softly. "Listen, we have to-"

"Talk?" She finished, turning towards him. "Malfoy, we can't talk about this right now. Not here, where anyone could hear us!"

"And why not?" He said, stepping closer.

"Because I don't think you would want your little Slytherin group finding out you'd been hanging out with a _Mudbl_-_"_

Draco clapped his hand over her mouth. "_Don't _call yourself that."

When Draco did this, Hermione's time froze again. This was-shocking. What was he doing? He had called her a Mudblood before, and now he was…stopping her from saying it? Maybe…he had changed. And in that moment, Hermione truly fell for him.

Draco saw Hermione's brown eyes widen as he said it, but he couldn't help it. She was too good to be called such a foul name. And he knew that even when he was young, he had known it. He regretted every time he had called her it. He lifted his hand off her mouth slowly, making sure she wouldn't blurt out that _word_.

Hermione knew they had to talk.

Draco knew he needed to know what was going on between them.

"Meet me by the Gryffindor common room tonight at eleven." Hermione said.

Draco nodded, and prayed this would answer all his questions.

**A/N: I made an AVPM reference ^_^  
>Also, I made a tumblr! Follow me at <strong>.com/** it's not personal, just kind of related to this, like its all Dramione, Tom Felton, Draco, Emma Watson, and Hermione. ANNND please review so I have motivation, read because I feel you already has to this point.  
>Love you, my shippers! Xoxo 3<strong>


	8. Talking in the Corriders

**AN: Hello there! I just looked at the traffic stats on this story and…wow. Just, thank you all, everyone who has taken the time to read my story. I couldn't have asked for better fans 3 I hope you like this chapter, it's going to be really good (I hope)**

Hermione lay down in her bed, listening to the soft ticking of the clock in the corner. The frayed edge of the red sheets tickled her nose, and she pushed them away, holding back a sneeze. Lavender stirred in her bed, turning her pillow around, and Padma Patail mumbled something unintelligible in her sleep. Hermione turned, staring at the clock, waiting for it to strike eleven. She wondered what Draco was doing right now.

Back in the Slytherin boy's dorm, Draco slid out from under his blankets, fully clothed. Making sure the others didn't hear him, he slipped out of the bed and tip toed across the room. The heavy metal door opened almost silently, and Draco ran out of it, hoping he could make it across the castle without being caught.

_Is she worth it?_ Was the thought that kept running through his head as he hid behind suits of armor and ran through every passageway he knew.

At 10:50, Hermione crept out of bed, stuffing some pillows under her covers so it would be less conspicuous, and walked slowly downstairs. Down in the Common Room, a warm fire crackled, Hermione's hats laid around, and almost all the pictures were asleep. The message board had a Quidditch flyer, and one of Fred and George's posters. Hermione groaned and tore it down again, making a mental note to scold them again.

As Hermione walked over to the portrait hole, thinking of Draco. _What should I say?_

Draco climbed the last few steps up to the Fat Lady's portrait. He had known every entrance to the common rooms for years, but now it was finally coming in handy. He stopped in front of it quietly, not wanting to wake her up.

Hermione crawled through the portrait hole, her heart pumping faster. She was breaking so many rules, written and unwritten. She pushed it open softly, and there he was.

Draco Malfoy.

Staring at her with those grey blue eyes, eyes that could melt her mind and heart in a second. Hermione looked down, hopping out of the portrait hole lightly. There was a minute of silence, before Draco broke the silence.

"Do you want to walk?" He said, gesturing down the long corridor. Hermione nodded, and they were off.

When they were halfway down the hall Hermione turned to Draco. "Listen Malfoy, we need to figure out what's going on between us."

"Well that's what I wanted to know." He said. "Last year we hated each other, and now we are…" He waved his hand around the empty hall, trying to emphasize their sneaking around. "I can't do this. I can't sneak around forever."

"But maybe we have to."

"Why?"

They stopped again, looking at each other. Hermione sighed.

"What if Harry and Ron found out? What would Crabbe and Goyle think if they found out?"

"Maybe I don't care what Crabbe and Goyle think."

Hermione was taken aback again by this show of affection, these random lines that just completely shocked her.

"Well, maybe we should just take it slow."

"_Slow?_" Draco rolled his head back and groaned. "Come _on_ Granger, why _slow?_"

"Maybe, we should start by just being friends?"

"_Friends? _No, then I will be stuck in the same place as Potter and Weasley." Draco scoffed. "I don't think _friends_ will help either of us."

"Good friends?"

Draco gave her a blank look that obviously said: _I don't want that, and I know you don't either._

"Please Malfoy! This is hard enough already for me," Hermione's face went soft and vulnerable, and Draco truly saw that she _did_ want this as bad as he did.

"Then why don't you just say yes? 'Yes, we can be together, Draco.' That's it, that's all you have to say."

"But I can't! Not so suddenly, please. I want my friendship with Ron and Harry to last, and if they find out any of this…" She drew her finger across her throat.

"Alright, alright…" Draco said a bit dejectedly. "Will we ever be allowed to announce it?"

"Yes, of course!" Hermione said, taking his hand. "I promise."

There was one more moment of silence of them smiling at each other, but then-

"I heard something my pretty, and my ears never lie…"

The voice of Argus Filch came from around the corner. Hermione whimpered, her brown eyes filling with fear. Draco gasped, and pulled Hermione down the hall, making sure not to hit any suits of armor. They ran downstairs, and Draco pulled them into an empty classroom. Filch's footsteps were close behind, and Draco pulled them under the teacher's desk.

"Malfoy-" Hermione started, but he covered her mouth.

"Shhhh." He said, his bright eyes flicking to the door and back. Hermione was quite uncomfortable, under this small desk with Draco. She felt the need to make a move, to do something, even though she knew that it would be very stupid to do it.

So she didn't.

As they sat there, looking at each other, they were practically speaking with their eyes, everything they had wanted to say before was flowing between them. They didn't need words, just each other. After several long minutes, Draco finally broke the silence.

"I think we're safe."

"Good," Hermione said, breaking into a smile for the first time that night. "I was worried we'd be trapped under here all night."

Draco gave her a cocky little grin, and crawled out from under the desk smoothly. He held out his hand and guided Hermione out. Outside, the bright stars and full moon shone, illuminating the classroom so they could perfectly see each other. Without saying anything, Hermione walked over to him and hugged him tightly. Draco wrapped his arms over her shoulders, and Hermione rested her head on his chest.

"You ready to go back?"

Hermione really didn't want to go back; she could just stay here with him forever, in this tiny little classroom. But instead she nodded slightly, and turned to head back. Draco draped his arm over her shoulders, and she wrapped her arm around his waist. And with that, they quietly walked back to the common room.

**AN: Wow, this is definitely my favorite chapter. I just love their relationship, it makes me so happy as always, please review! I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so I will probably be able to stay in bed and write for a while :P Xoxo 3  
>Oh! And fan fiction doesn't let me write a URL, so my tumblr URL is dramioneismyship . tumblr . com without any spaces 3<strong>


	9. Working With Draco

**AN: This is **_**maybe**_** going to be a crappy chapter, I think. I kind of have no ideas, so sorry. Also, some of this was in the book, because it goes into one of the chapters, but it will sort of become mine eventually. And I know that some of what I write in this chapter won't be in the book, because Dramione is everything and it changes nature.**

The Great Hall was filled with students a few mornings later, and at the Gryffindor Hermione, Ron, and Harry all were waiting for Hermione's _Prophet _delivery. Percy's letter the night before had mentioned an article about Umbridge, and that had been almost all they could think about last night. Besides, of course, the visit from Sirius.

_Trained in combat? _Hermione thought, getting a glass of pumpkin juice for herself. She had been thinking about this idea the most lately. _That might not be such a bad idea…_

But all of a sudden flock of owls interrupted her train of thought.

"They're here!" She yelped, looking all around for her owl. A large tawny owl soared down and dropped the newspaper in front of her plate as it perched on top of the milk jug. It then looked at her expectantly, until she dropped a few sickles in its little pouch and it soared away.

It had just barely lifted off when Hermione gasped loudly, and spread the newspaper out for Harry and Ron to see. Dolores Umbridge's toady face was staring up at them, smiling and blinking slowly underneath the headline: **Ministry Seeks Educational Reform, Dolores Umbridge Appointed First Ever "High Inquisitor"**

"High Inquisitor?" Harry's half eaten piece of toast slipped out of his fingers and onto the floor. "What does that mean?"

After Hermione finished reading the tedious article, she looked at the others and sighed.

"So now we know how we ended up with Umbridge! Fudge passed this 'Educational Degree' and forced her apon us! And now he's given her the power to inspect other teachers!" Hermione's face had gone slightly pink, and her eyes were glowing. "I can't believe this. It's _outrageous…_"

"I know it is." Harry said. He looked down at his right hand, and the outline of the words Umbridge had made him carve into his hand stood out. But Ron, on the other hand, was starting to smile.

"What?" Said Harry and Hermione together, staring at him as though he was crazy.

"Oh, I can't wait to see McGonagall inspected."Said Ron happily. "She won't know what's hit her."

Hermione jumped up all of a sudden. "Come on! We'd better get going, if she's inspecting Binn's class we won't want to be late…"

But Umbridge wasn't there, or in Snape's dungeon when they got there for double potions with the Slytherins.

Hermione jolted to a stop. _We have double potions with the Slytherins!_ She thought, her mind racing. She had been so caught up with the Umbridge problem she had completely forgotten about seeing Malfoy today in class.

"Hermione?" Ron said, stopping in front of her. "You okay?"

Hermione's attention was brought back to reality, and she ran her hand through her hair. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Harry adjusted his glasses. "You looked worried about something."

"Oh, it was nothing! I just thought I forgot to do our transfiguration homework…" Hermione said the first thing that popped into her head.

"Of course that stopped you." Ron rolled his eyes and walked away, with Hermione next to him. Her heart beat loudly in her chest as they approached the dungeon door, and then…nothing. Malfoy wasn't even in there!

Hermione sat down next to Harry and waited for Snape to pass back their tests, when Malfoy walked into the room. Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy walked around him, hanging onto his every word. Hermione tried to make it look like she wasn't staring, while really…she was. She watched the way he walked, the way his hand went to his tie every now and then, and how when he talked, he never seemed to have to pause and think about what he was saying.

He sat down across the room from her, and their eyes met for a second. Hermione blushed and looked down, but Draco kept staring.

"Draco, what are you looking at?" Pansy Parkinson said, her bright green eyes boring into him.

"Nothing." He murmured, looking away from Hermione. Snape swept around the classroom, handing back their essays. Hermione gave a little grin when she saw the A in the corner of her paper, and sat up a little bit more in her chair as Snape began to speak.

"I have awarded you the grades you would have been given if you presented this work in your O.W.L.' Snape said with a smirk, passing out more papers. "This should give you a realistic idea of what to expect in your examination."

As Snape reached the front of the classroom, he turned to face them.

"The general standard of this homework was abysmal. Most of you would have failed had this been your examination. I expect to see more effort on this week's essay for the various varieties of venom antidotes, or I shall start handing out detentions to those dunces who get D's."

Malfoy sniggered on the other side of the classroom and said in a loud whisper, "Some people got _D's_! Ha!"

Hermione shot him a death glare, which immediately shut him up. She had seen Harry's paper when he got it back, a nod knew this would make him feel bad. She realized that Harry was looking slightly at her, thinking she was trying to see his paper. He slid it off the desk and into his bag, and Hermione felt a sense of relief that he thought _that _was her reason for looking his way.

"I am going to be pairing you into groups now to work on your strengthening solutions." Snape said, plucking a sheet of names out of thin air.

"Longbottom, Finnagin."

Neville and Seamus looked at each other and gulped. This was sure to be an explosion.

"Crabbe, Thomas."

Dean looked over at Crabbe with fear in his eyes, not liking this.

"Parkinson, Weasley."

Snape smirked as he saw Ron's face go white, then as red as his hair. Pansy looked as though she could kill someone, her eyes cold.

"Granger, Malfoy."

Hermione's eyes widened and her heart started beating loudly.

_How am I going to get through this, pretending I don't like him? _She thought.

Across the room, Draco motioned her over, clearing the space where Pansy had just been. Hermione gathered up her things and moved over to him, looking down at the ground the whole time.

"Hello, Granger." Malfoy drawled in her ear. Hermione's heart skipped a beat and she bent down, letting her hair cover her burning face as she adjusted her books.

"Shall we begin?" She said, straightening up and facing him. He was definitely a good three inches taller than her, she noted.

"Sure." He said, smiling at her. They cut their ingredients in silence, pausing only to confirm a direction. Finally, Draco broke the silence once more and said, "You know, Granger, nobody's paying attention to us."

He was right. Around the class, everyone was sweating over their potions, whether they were exploding, melting, or just not cooperating with the maker. Hermione knew he was right.

"Alright then, why don't you come up with something to discuss?" She said, pouring in salamander blood.

"How about Umbridge?"

Hermione's face darkened. "I could talk about that."

"Alright, what do you think of her?"

"She's foul."

Draco looked taken aback at this statement. "What do you mean, foul?"

"I _mean_ she has no right being here at Hogwarts! She's only going to bring bad things to it, starting with this whole 'High Inquisitor' thing." Hermione's cheeks were flaming with the combined heat from the potion and her anger.

"Well, maybe it's for the better." Draco said quietly, stirring the potion.

"_What?"_

"I said _maybe_ it's for the better."

Hermione stared at him in disbelief.

"How-I mean, why would you-I can't even…" She spluttered, trying to get the words out. "What would bring you to say-?"

"Stop!" Draco said, grabbing her arm. "You can't put in that much powdered griffin claw."

Hermione got even more annoyed by the fact that he was right. She re-measured it, and they continued the potion in silence. Hermione fumed on one side of the table, while Draco rolled his eyes at the other side.

"Do you seriously think Umbridge could make Hogwarts better?" Hermione said quietly, almost whispering.

"Maybe." Draco said, chopping up a large root. "I mean, think of everything that could have been done to Hogwarts, now it could happen. Better quality, you know?"

"_No, _I don't know. Hogwarts is the best thing to ever happen to me, and I wouldn't change a thing." Hermione said this while remembering the day she had gotten her Hogwarts acceptance letter, and how happy she had been. She remembered how _special_ she had felt, to be part of this new world.

Hermione read the directions on the board: _Stir the cauldron 6 times clockwise.  
><em>She went to stir the potion. _1…2…3…4…5…_She counted the numbers in here head, when Draco stopped her.

"Do a counterclockwise turn on the sixth." He said, not looking directly at her.

"Why?" Hermione asked, wanting to finish.

"Just do it." He said, cleaning off his knife.

Hermione shrugged, and decided to trust him on this. She slowly turned it counter-clockwise, and it turned the perfect shade of clear turquoise. She gasped, her eyes widening.

"How did you know…?"

"Old family secret." He said, flashing his brilliant smile her way.

Hermione slumped, her eyes narrowing. _I've fallen for a guy who can actually compete with me mentally…_She thought, until she remembered the Transfiguration lessons.

_Well, in most ways. _

Hermione smiled at Draco, and he smiled back shyly. It was the best potions class for both of them.

**AN: A message I got earlier made me want to ask: Would you rather have longer chapters, but possibly less frequent updating, or shorter chapters with every day to every other day updating? I can try to do longer ones with frequent updating, but…Sigh. I have school and such.  
>As I said, I am under the weather, so I have more time to write but then I end up sleeping. Sorry. But I have some really good ideas for more chapters now!<br>ANDDD Last but not least, I think I have a poll up on my profile. I have no clue how they work, but if you can't find it, just answer this in the reviews: Should Draco and Hermione end up marrying? And if so, who should Ron end up with? I have some ideas…  
>Please, read and review! I love you all my little shippers. Keep with me! Xoxo<strong> 


	10. A Note to my Fans

HI GUYS! So, I'm sooo sorry. But….my mom is taking me to Australia for two weeks. So I can't write then. IM SORRY! I WILL TRY TO WRITE A TON WHEN I GET BACK!

Xoxo my little shippers


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